A Game Changing Material

Customization is the name of the game for Utah Trikes, a producer of trikes, quads and custom wheelchairs, located in Payson, Utah. President and CEO, Ashley Guy, said from the very beginning the company was all about personalization. “We started making our quad using existing frame platforms and built custom two-wheel drive rear ends that we’d add on and effectively turn the trikes into quads. That grew into something where suddenly everybody who wanted something customized came
to us.”

But customization has its obstacles, namely time and cost. “The production run might only be 100 parts and it’s hard to get your cost down with such a small run,” said Guy. Utah Trikes’ next step was trying to solve its manufacturing issues. “We have some CNC machines we ran pretty much nonstop,” Guy said. “But this was always a hassle without committing to jigs and fixtures, which meant a lot of man hours to prototype.” Also, as the parts became more complicated it became harder and harder for Utah Trikes to outsource.